A novel study shows that being a ‘weekend warrior’ may be just as good for your brain health as exercising all week long.

With the demands of adult life, free time can be a scarce commodity. Many of us wonder, “I barely have time to cook dinner. How can I find time for regular exercise during the week?”

The health benefits of exercise include reduced risk of chronic diseases such as: heart disease AND dementia – may seem unattainable due to the pressures of work and life.

But new study Published in the journal Nature Aging, they bring good news for people who struggle to find time for regular exercise in their daily schedule.

The results suggest that “weekend warriors“– people who exercise the most on weekends – can enjoy the same brain health and mental health benefits as people who exercise regularly throughout the week.

What did the study do?

A research team from China analyzed data from over 75,000 people British Biobank. This is a gigantic cohort study tracking the health of around half a million people in the UK. Over 100,000 of them wore wearable activity trackers. The average age of participants in this study was 62.

Participants provided data from wrist-worn devices to track their physical activity patterns over a seven-day period. They were then divided into three groups:

• inactive: people who did not meet the recommended standards 150 minutes moderate to vigorous physical activity per week

• regularly dynamic: people who meet the guidelines and whose activity is spread throughout the week

• “weekend warriors”: people who meet the guidelines by accumulating more than 50% of their activity on one or two days (not necessarily Saturday and Sunday, but any one or two days of the week).

The researchers followed the participants for an average of 8.4 years. They used medical records from their family doctors, hospitalization data, and death records to track the onset of neurological conditions (dementia, stroke, and Parkinson’s disease) as well as mental health conditions (including depression and anxiety).

The researchers adjusted for several key lifestyle and health factors that could affect these results. These factors included age, gender, smoking status, alcohol consumption, diet, and history of medical conditions such as diabetes, hypertension (high blood pressure), and cancer.

Weekend warriors reap the gigantic rewards

Of the approximately 75,500 participants, about 24,300 were classified as inactive, 21,200 as regularly dynamic and 30,000 as weekend warriors.

The results showed that compared to inactive adults, weekend warriors had a 26% lower risk of developing dementia, a 21% lower risk of stroke, and a 45% lower risk of Parkinson’s disease. Their risks were 40% and 37% lower, respectively, for depression and anxiety compared to the inactive group. All of these numbers for the weekend warrior group were comparable to those for people who were regularly dynamic.

The protective associations against depression and anxiety were consistent across age groups, both below and above the age of 65. However, the reduced risk of dementia, stroke, and Parkinson’s disease was particularly pronounced in those over the age of 65. This finding reflects the significant benefits of physical activity for older people who are higher risk these conditions.

There is more than one way to get benefits

What if weekends are out of reach for exercise due to work, family obligations, or other commitments? Fortunately, researchers have explored the different lifestyle patterns of the weekend warrior.

They found that if people did most of their moderate or vigorous physical activity on one or two days a week – even if they were not consecutive days – they achieved similar health benefits.

IN previous studyThe researchers, also using UK Biobank data, found that people who did most of their exercise on one or two days experienced similar heart health benefits to those whose physical activity was spread more evenly throughout the week.

And if customary gym workouts aren’t your cup of tea, you’re in luck. The study used activity trackers to monitor all types of activity. So no matter how you accumulate your moderate or vigorous activity, the study suggests you’ll reap the health benefits.

This is in line with growing body With tests This can be seen that whether it is brief bursts of daily activities such as climbing stairs, doing housework, walking in the park, or longer sessions of running or exercising at the gym, the health benefits are felt by everyone.

Some caveats to consider

The researchers took into account a variety of lifestyle and health factors. However, it is still possible that other factors could have influenced some of the associations.

Another limitation is that the study could not assess how changes in physical activity over time might affect brain health. Previous studies have shown that even inactive adults who increase your activity level you may feel immediate health benefits.

Nevertheless, these findings add to a significant body of evidence that brain health benefits and the overall health benefits of moderate to vigorous exercise – any day of the week you can afford it.